Fate: Godswar
by Hipster1776
Summary: A tale of two brothers. Chosen to compete in the legendary Grail War, for a wish that they desire deep within their hearts. Under the watchful eyes of the gods who will emerge victorious? And what will this mean for the Volodin line? OC centric story, co-writer: Z0mb1ehunter789 (check him out!) Disclaimer: Neither of us own any part of the Fate Franchise
1. The Summoning of Heroes pt1

Berlin, Germany. December 31st, 2019.

The acrid smell of smoke mixed with the pungent scent of booze, filled the room as everyone beside me in the hotel bar partied to ring in the new year. I sat at the bar nursing a bourbon keeping to myself, I watched as the brown liquid swirled in the glass coalescing around the ice.

"So," the bartender broke into my shut in mood, "What brings you to Berlin friend? You seem like a man with a story to tell." His eyes glistened with curiosity and his thick accent seemed interested. I sighed as I pounded the last of my drink and slide it across the bar to him narrowly missing the passed out young man's head next to me.

"You keep those coming and I'll keep you entertained." I spoke up doing my best to hide my own accent. He slide a newly refilled glass of bourbon to me with wink and a smirk. I chuckled as I began to drink the acidic liquid, I slightly winced as the burning started but quickly became accustomed to it again. "It's a very long story, you sure you want to hear it?"

"Hey," the bartender shrugged, "You're the only person here who can form a coherent sentence in this bar right now, besides if it keeps you ordering those talk away my friend." We both shared a nice hearty laugh at that.

"Well in that case," I straightened up, "Let me start with my name. I'm Garrett Volodin, and honestly my life wasn't all that great or exciting until recently."

"Volodin? You from Moscow friend?" He cocked his head as I spoke.

"Well St. Petersburg but yes I'm Russian. Anyways," I continued between sips. "I'm actually the middle child of my family so of course you know I'm already screwed over from having a good life for the most part. I was always compared to my older brother who, in the least complimentary way, is the golden child of the family. Well to keep a long story short, he got a nice cushy job where he never really has much to worry about as far as job security and payment goes. Oh you should have seen how happy our father was when he got the news, I swear this was the happiest I've ever seen my father but not twenty minutes after he gave us the news my father started berating me with things like 'why aren't you more like your brother?!' 'Your brother is the only child we wanted' so on and so forth." At this point I needed a refill and he already slide one over to me most likely to keep my story going. "I had been actually doing something in secret to put myself above my brother. It actually worked however, not in the way I desired. Some family friends, lets call them, found out, got jealous, and now I'm on the run from assassins trying to kidnap or kill me." I stared at him for what felt like five minutes as I finished, suddenly the silence between us was broken as he burst out in laughter.

"Okay then," he wiped a tear away from his eye as he finished laughing, "Either you're messing with me, reciting a book you read or are even more drunk then I thought but whatever it is; that was a good story my friend." I chuckled with him while staring at my drink. A little while had passed from our conversation when a young blonde girl came up to me clearly drunk.

"So, mister," she drunkenly started, "You interested in a little company to ring in the new year?" I looked her up and down, she was attractive but there was something off about her. She kept looking over to a tall man who was flirting with another woman. Now I get it.

"Can I get a water?" I called out to the bartender, he sighed as he gave me a large glass of the clear liquid. "Here." I handed the glass to her, "Sober up and then come talk to me." She looked stunned as if I just ran over her dog, before she could get a word out the tall man sauntered up to us looking clearly upset and staring daggers at me.

"You tryin to get wit my girl?" He grabbed her arm pulling her close very aggressively giving me the evil eye.

"No I wasn't," I clearly stated, "Not while you are clearly the picture of human perfection and masculinity." The bartender stifled a chuckle as he heard that. He glared down at me as he turned to leave dragging the lady behind him.

"C'mon! Ver LEAVING!" He stormed out dragging her behind him, I caught a glimpse of her looking back towards me with a silent yet desperate plea in her eyes as they left the building. I sighed as I finished my drink and threw down some cash.

"Well, tonight's about to get a little more interesting." I stood up and started for the door after them.

"Really? Didn't peg you for the hero type friend." The bartender said as I walked away.

"You're right I'm no hero." I left the building and followed the sounds of a struggle. I walked around the parking lot until I found them, the girl had been thrown to the ground and three guys now stood around her. I could barely make out what they were saying but it clearly was not a very…kosher topic they were discussing by the look on the girl's face. I slowly approached them not letting them know that I was there until I stood about twenty feet from them. Now I could make out what the topic was and well I was right. I whispered a short incantation to myself that hardened my skin before I called out to them. "OI! DOUCHE CANOES!" all three spun on their heels to look at me. The one from the bar who clearly was the leader spoke up first.

"Oh so I vas right, you do want my girl." His smug look sickened me to my very core. He looked at the larger of the other two who started to walk towards me.

"Well, let's just say I'd rather you not have her." The larger man had come up to me and placed his hand on my should and looked at me with a smirk like he could easily beat me. "Don't touch me." I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. He looked back at the alpha douche canoe who just nodded at the ape next to me. He replaced his hand on my shoulder and then drove his fist into my stomach. The punch was hard and heavy but thanks to my reinforcement magic it wasn't as bad as it could've been. "So we're doing this now, okay." I replied to his fine intro by driving my head upwards into his face followed up by a quick ship around with my heel landing in his temple dropping him like a sack of bricks.

"VHAT ARE YOU STANDING THERE FOR?! GET HIM!" The main man shouted at his other subordinate. The smaller man charged me clearly having never been in a fight as he got his swing ready way to early. Someone like him doesn't even require much effort as he nearly ran into my fist and fell face first into the asphalt.

"Huh, glass jaw." I commented to myself. The leader, now clearly frustrated, drew a switchblade and pointed it in my direction.

"FUCK YOU!" he shouted as he ran at me with his blade. Within a moment I had him on the ground, disarmed and maybe with a dislocated shoulder. After that small scuffle I needed a shower, I walked over to the girl helping her up.

"Hey, next time don't choose the guy who clearly has a larger knife than his other 'equipment'." I winked as I walked back to the hotel and up to my room.

I walked into the room and kicked off my shoes as I breathed a sigh of relief. The room itself was neither expensive nor large but it was comfortable and more than I needed. I stripped off my shirt and pants as I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I looked at the man staring back at me in the mirror before I got in, his auburn hair shaggily rested on his head as his blue grey eyes pierced into my soul but his scruff was definitely getting a little out of control. I jumped in the shower washing off the day of travel and impromptu parking lot brawls, I ran my fingers over the tattoo of a phoenix that rested on my right arm that I got not too long ago but enough to be a memory at this point. I forgot how long I was in the shower, but it didn't matter to me it was relaxing. As I wrapped the towel around my waist, there was a knock at my door. I sauntered over carefully hoping that it wasn't an assassin, when I opened the door I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the lady from the parking lot standing there with a bottle in her hand and a coy glint in her eye. I opened the door wider for her to come in. Needless to say, my New Year's eve wasn't all that bad.

January 1st, 2020

The light piercing through my curtains woke me up very rudely, causing me to cuss the sun and day out with all the anger I could muster first thing in the morning. I slowly sat up on the edge of the bed trying to wake up with at least some kind of grace but that clearly wasn't happening when suddenly my phone started going off. I walked over to it crossing the sea of discarded clothes and an empty bottle that had once contained gin, when I checked the number calling I declined the call immediately and not thirty seconds later it went off again, I sighed as I felt obligated to answer when my mother calls.

"Hello mother how are—" I began before being cut off by a gruff thick Russian accent.

"How dare you decline my call you ungrateful son!" My father was on the other side clearly knowing that I would've answered for my mom if not him. Before he got a word out he started on some tangent about my brother and our obligations of one of the only mage families in Russia blah blah blah. I tuned it all out, and began my normal morning by brewing some complimentary coffee. However, when I reached for the pot I saw something that caught my eye. A jagged circle with two lightning bolts running vertically and horizontally through it all in a deep crimson color emblazoned on the back of my left hand. I stared at the marking for a good two minutes before I tuned back into my father when two words he said caught my attention 'Grail War'.

"Wait what was that about a grail war?" I inquired as I sat back down on the bed now giving my father the attention he desired.

"Of course you didn't listen," he sighed, "Your brother has volunteered for the upcoming sixth grail war and I believe it would be in your best interest to give him your research and end this fruitless rebellion against the association." I grit my teeth as my father told me that I should give my ass of a brother my life's research, then I chuckled to myself.

"Father I thought you would know me better," I stood up and began getting dressed, "besides why would I give up my own trump card? You are a very lucky man after all having two sons entered into the grail war." He went silent upon hearing this, good. "Tell him that I'll agree to one brotherly meeting but after that me and him are enemies." I hung up the phone and finished getting dressed. No one would guess that the guy wearing ripped jeans and biker leathers was a researcher with a sealing designation ordered from the clocktower. As I checked out my mind was racing about where I was going to get a catalyst for the summoning. That would be the only chance I had at winning, summoning a powerful servant regardless of class, without any support behind me. I stepped outside and straddled my motorcycle as I looked through the contacts in my phone trying to find someone who could help. I found one number that was promising, I called him explaining the situation and set up a meeting at a small cafe in the city. Berlin wasn't my ideal place but it was no where in the sphere of influence of my family and my executioner brother hunting me that I'd have to face sooner than later now that we were enemies in the grail war. As I drove through the city I got a couple sideways glances from people on the street but nothing out of the ordinary. Eventually I pulled up to a small cafe on the corner of two major cross streets. At one of the outside tables was a portly man dressed in a suit with slicked back gray hair drinking what appeared to be simple black coffee. I parked my bike and walked up to him laughing "Bartholomew! My friend how have you been?"

"Garrett! You sonuvabitch!" He stood up and we gave each other a brief hug and sat down across from each other. "So Garrett how have you been these past months Happy New Year by the way."

"Not much other than this." I showed him the command seals that appeared the night before and his jaw nearly dropped upon seeing them.

"So you weren't lying," he breathed in before composing himself again, "You're in need of a good catalyst aren't you?" I nodded in response, "Give me five minutes my friend order whatever you want on the menu. It's on me today!" He pulled out his phone as he stood up and began making some phone calls talking into it in a variety of languages as he switched from phone call to phone call. By the time he was done I had three lattes and was working on my fourth.

"Finally!" I exclaimed as my leg was bouncing causing the table to shake. "So did you find one that will help me win?" I leaned across the table staring him the eyes.

"Patience, comrade," He said mockingly, "It's out for delivery it should be here within the next couple hours, for now lets relax." I leaned back in my chair and began the tedious process of waiting. Me and Bartholomew caught up on each others lives and research. After approximately three hours and countless lattes later a young man pulled up on a little scooter with what appeared to be a pizza box strapped to the back of it.

"Delivery for Bartholomew?" He approached our table and Bart raised his hand taking the box and handing the young man a tip for the service.

"Open the box," Bart instructed after the young man left and he handed me the box. The first thing I noticed was how heavy it was, it felt like a hunk of iron was handed to me. I opened the box and was nearly blinded when the sun it the polished metal fragment inside the box. "That supposedly belonged to a great hero eons ago." Bart stood up and began walking away, "Good luck my friend and may you survive long enough for our next drinks to be a bit stronger than coffee." He nodded and walked off towards wherever he came from. After about five minutes I stood up, tucked the metal into on of the saddle bags on the side of my bike and took off towards the outskirts of the city.

After driving for about twenty to thirty minutes I had finally left the city and had entered the forest. I left my bike by the side of the road while I went on foot to find a small clearing to perform the ritual, it didn't take too long to find an appropriate spot. The long part was the crafting of the circle and waiting for nightfall. As I waited I pulled out a necklace with a small onyx that hung off it wrapped in silver, my life's work. It was much more than it appeared and was the reason for my sealing designation, instead of performing traditional gemcrafting when it came to spells, I had found a way to allow a gem to act as an extension of one's one Od source and mage circuits granting them more power and a deeper Od pool from the surrounding prana in the air. I slide it on over my head and stood up as the moon rose in the sky shining a pale light into the clearing, I placed the hunk of metal in the center of the summoning circle and began the incantation. "Heed my words, My will creates your body,And your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call,And obey my will and reason, Then answer my summoning!I hereby swear, That I shall be all the good in the world,That I shall defeat . . . all evil in the world! Let the heroes of old answer the call if their valor be true, May history once again quake beneath their feet and the very heavens shake at their presence! Those who challenged the powerful, and defended the weak come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of Scales!" Suddenly the circle erupted with a burst of light temporarily blinding me, but even with the smoke covering the area I heard a strong voice ring out.

"Tell me, are you worthy to call yourself my master?"


	2. The Summoning of Heroes pt2

Written by Z0mb1ehunter789

December 30, 2019

Garrett Volodin.

To others it would be just another sealing designate. Just another job.

Now while this is the case for him, this is also his younger brother. Garrett Volodin, the younger brother of Dmitiri Volodin.

It was a kick in the teeth to learn that his beloved younger brother had done something to even warrant the Clocktower to issue a sealing designation. This was the same younger brother that he used to play in the family home with, the same one that would always go to him when he would get stumped. It made Dmitiri feel like a failure as a brother, and that was a feeling he hated more than anything.

He was the older brother, the prodigy, the one that inherited the family crest. It was his job to help his brother when he was in trouble. To gain a sealing designation... Dmitiri didn't want to begin to think of what his brother had began working on, though he hoped it wasn't Undead Apostles.

He didn't think he'd be able to look at his family again if that were the case.

Though here is the conundrum for Dmitiri, he is an Executor. Specifically he is the Executor chosen to hunt down Sealing Designate Garrett Volodin. It was a test, he knew. His family was still a young family, and the older families' of the Clocktower wouldn't want new blood encroaching their turf with no boundaries. Boundaries he knew to be harsher than for the upper echelon.

It was also for this very reason he was saddled with being "honored" with becoming a master for the Grail War in Rome. Oh he knew that the last "real" Grail War was in 2004 in a Japanese city called Fuyuki. He also knew that the catalyst sitting in front of him was provided by the church under conditions, ones that he was ok with only because he planned on summoning Berserker.

Those of the clergy around him didn't particularly know that fact, or the fact that he won't guarantee their safety when his servant is summoned. It truly was beautiful irony that the piece of metal in front of him is said to come from the spear that pierced Jesus's side, and that he was going to use it to summon the mad servant.

Dmitiri would openly admit that he doesn't care for the war, or the idea of some penultimate wish granting device. If reaching the Root was truly possible, then why hasn't any known mages done it? He is pretty sure it would have been recorded in his legend if Merlin or Morgan did so, but it wasn't. If the two greatest magi to ever walk the Earth couldn't reach the Root in their life time, then how could someone like him?

He knew he was powerful, he knew he was a prodigy, but to compare himself to Merlin or Morgan? It was foolhardy when he struggled to beat most of the Veteran Executors.

He sighed as he shook his head and refocused on the task at hand, or more specifically Lord El-Melloi II. The Lord of the Clocktower had for some reason saw fit to teach him about the Grail War and the do's and do not's on being a Master. It was all really nice and all but it felt more like he was trying to get Dmitiri to join the army of a group that isn't the Clocktower or Church.

It was strange to say the least.  
_

December 31, 2019

He was still chuckling on his plane ride to the capital of Italy. The sheer terror on the those clergymen's faces when Berserker appeared before him in the middle of that circle. It was like they truly believed that there was a higher power that could save them from him killing them. Though there was one thing that worried him about his summoned servant.

He can talk, even if was just to spew out insults about the Church and Christians in general. Which was not something that a Servant with Madness A should normally be able to do, or at least that is what he was informed on.

It was even stranger when he remembered that it should have been the Son of God that was summoned, and not his current servant. It made him wonder how the Church could have messed that up much.

He wondered if he could get that weird red haired guy to identify his servant... Oh who was he joking, he was winging this and that was just fine.

Though he looked at the "stat screen" in his glasses showing him his servant's stats and wasn't sure if he should feel appalled or gleeful.

**Berserker**

True Name: ?

Strength: A

Agility: D

Endurance: B

Luck: D

Madness Enhancement: A

Magic Resistance: E

「Christian Killer」: A-

It was the last skill that truly worried him. From what he could gather from the skill, it was the same as a weapon having anti-monster attributes but with those that believe in the Christian God. Now as a magus, he wouldn't claim to be a devout believer, but he could still be considered one due to his affiliation as an Executioner.

He nervously chuckled to himself as he looked out the window for a brief moment to note that he still had to time to catch up on his sleep before he reaches the destination for the war.

_He lay on his knees before the man that he calls father._

_Dmitiri was 11 at the time when his father took him to the family dojo and forced him to take everything he learned into an actual fight. Granted the man was a prisoner that was caught trespassing, but that doesn't change the fact that he had to fight a grown man easily double his age._

_As he looks down at his blood soaked hands he can't help but feel a tinge of happiness, at what he doesn't know. He would like to believe that it was for being able to prevent his younger brother from having to go through situation by their father as well._

_It was hours later after he cleaned up and learned the art of "cleaning" that he stood face to face with Garrett, whom of which was curious as to why dad had taken him to the dojo alone._

_"It wasn't anything for you to worry about Gar. Dad just wanted me to do something for him."_

_He knew from the way his brother pouted that he didn't like that answer nor the fact that their father didn't ask him to help as well. It was a flash but Dmitiri caught it, a pang of jealousy. It was something that raised his anger a little. No one should feel jealous at having to take someone's life, especially when they were raised to be a Magus._

_He felt it was unbecoming of his brother to feel that way, but he knew that he was jealous of the fact that his brother didn't have to and that his brother wasn't a prodigy at the family magecraft._


	3. The Road to war

I apologize for the late upload I got kinda busy yesterday but it's here now so enjoy.

"Tell me, are you worthy to call yourself my master?" Standing in the middle of the summoning circle was a tall man dressed in armor with a large shield on one arm and a sword hung on the same side. His black hair was tied back very much to be kept out of his face. His piercing green eyes stared into my soul with an intensity that only a great hero could emanate, his features were very masculine and sharp and he carried himself with a sense of nobility.

"Let me guess," I lite a cigarette as I began thinking, "You're Saber aren't you? After all not many servants typically carry a sword like that." I looked him up and down trying to get a beat on who he is. Grecian armor, very Mediterranean features, his shield was what interested me the most, large, thick and polished? I smirked as I figured it out.

"Yes. I am indeed saber." He nodded as he looked at me with that same intensity, "Now I ask again, are you worthy to call yourself my master?" His voice grew slightly irritated at this point like his patience was growing thin. His stance was very aggressive and his other hand now rested on the hilt of his blade.

"King of Mycenae," I grinned as he slightly calmed down and his stance eased, "tell me what is your wish for the holy grail?"

"That is my busy only." He once again got aggressive towards me. "You keep avoiding the question, so I will ask one more time and I expect an answer: Are you worthy to call yourself my master?" He drew his sword, a straight blade until the tip that had an large curve to it, and took a step towards me.

"So, that confirms it," I chuckled to myself, "Listen to me, I admit to not being the most heroic or noble of persons however, I do believe that this would make an excellent partnership in the grail war." I extended my hand towards him, "while my title may be master in this, I wish to be your partner." We stand there looking at each other for a few seconds before he puts his sword away and shakes my hand.

"Very well," his expression didn't soften by much but enough to where he isn't going to stab me. "Tell me what is your name?"

"Garrett Volodin," I bowed to him, "and I would ask yours, however I believe I already know who you are, Perseus son of Zeus." He bowed to his name being spoken aloud. After the brief exchange he dematerialized as I went back into the city, to get some fucking sleep.

The next morning I finished my rounds of the city of Berlin gathering supplies to prepare myself for the war. Once night had fallen I finally mounted my bike and headed out towards the south, on my way I began thinking about the upcoming battles.

"The holy grail war," I heard Saber's voice echo in my mind, "A battle between seven heroic spirits and seven magi for a wish granting device called the holy grail. Tell me, what is your strategy for this?"

"I'll let you know when we get there." Saber let out a small sigh seemingly disappointed with my reply. Somewhere around midnight I stopped at a gas station to ask for directions towards Rome, the setting for the war. Saber appeared next to me as I filled up the tank on my bike and threw a hot dog down my gullet to satisfy my hunger, he looked at me with what appeared to be disdain. "Speak up, what is going on in that head of yours my friend?"

"You appear to be in no rush," He spoke up still glaring at me, "Shouldn't we hurry down to where the battle is raging?" I chuckled as I mounted up on my bike and put my helmet on.

"Listen, Saber," I started up my motocycle, "The faster we get there the more likely we are to run into multiple enemies at the same time and getting overwhelmed. I know your strong Saber, even amongst most heroes. However, even you can be overwhelmed and defeated should multiple servants set upon you at the same time." I heard him grunt as he vanished again, and I began heading back out on the road. The night air was crisp and cool, the stars were bright and gave me just enough light to see on the mountain road.

"Stop." Saber said into my head with urgency and sincerity. "Someone is coming, a servant."

"Shit, already!?" I stopped the bike and began looking around in the dead of night as Saber appeared before me with his sword and shield ready. We remained still for a few minutes, and nothing came close. "Saber are you su—" as I spoke the road itself began rumbling as if something large was on its way. I began a quick incantation to prepare myself for whatever was coming towards us. Suddenly out of the darkness the source of the rumbling became visible to me and Saber: a huge fuck off elephant with metal bolted onto its tusks and what appeared to be two riders on top, but I couldn't make out either of their details. Me and saber lept out of the way as the elephant stormed past us without giving either of us a second thought. I sat there on the ground stunned by what I just saw, Saber walked up to me and helped me off my ass.

"You were saying?" I swear I saw a smirk of self satisfaction cross his face.

"Was— WAS THAT A FUCKING ELEPHANT!?" I was still stunned by the experience, "Who in the would have a fucking elephant with them like that!?"

"Well," Saber slung his shield back up onto his back, "I would imagine that was the servant known as Rider. As to who that was I'm unsure." I picked my bike back up and climbed back on, the real thing that I was curious about was that the most likely knew that me and saber were here but they didn't seem to care.

"Saber," I spoke to him, "Once we get to Rome I want you to remain by my side until I say otherwise." He nodded in response. I ran my fingers across my necklace worried about what my father said to me. My brother is a master as well, and knowing him he'll be the biggest obstacle in my way to victory. However, I clutched the necklace to my chest, I will defeat him nothing will stand in my way of victory. I set back onto the road to Rome, the current home of the holy grail.


	4. The stage is set

(Written by Z0mb1ehunter789)

January 1, 2020

He stared up at one of most iconic monuments in the world and couldn't help but be amazed. The Colosseum was perfect in his opinion for a fight between Heroic Spirits, especially for his Beserker. Dmitiri laughed as he thought of all the traps he laid out near arena area.

He felt it was proper to emulate the 4th Grail War of Fuyuki that he heard bits and pieces of, so here he was in a big area sitting in a seat that isn't made of rubble and waiting for any enemy servants and masters to accept his invite. Truly this was the most suicidal move he could possibly pull, but he was curious to see if any of the other masters would actually meet him head-on.

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi... He knows next to nothing of the man that participated in the Grail War, but Dmitiri can say that he has heard stories of the man. Hell, the tactic he is employing was never confirmed to have happened, but rumors have it that Lord El-Melloi II said that the previous El-Melloi did initiate a challenge during the war.

He shivered at the rumors he heard about the other Grail Wars. It is unknown how many are even true and how many were created by others due to a lack of information of what occurred in the wars. A war fought by multiple kings for a wish granting device doesn't sound too farfetched but he found himself not being able to believe it as some of his peers had back in the Buriel Agency. Honestly, the stupidest one he heard was that the Fuyuki Grail War was ended due to the presence of some Zoroastrian God corrupting it turning the thing into a huge monkey paw.

Shaking himself of the thoughts of those rumors, he stared down at his Berserker class servant walking around in the arena like he was caged. It was almost terrifying to restrain the servant seeing as he had to use a command seal for the mad one to not storm the Vatican the moment the plane landed. Now that would have been a true bloodbath if what he did to the priests during his summoning was any indication.

It made him glad his brother wasn't a master. To have to face Garrett in a Deathmatch like this would have been too much for him. Especially considering that he didn't think he would be able to go all out against him.

He leaned forward as he pushed his face into his hands and thought of what the possibility of his servant's Noble Phantasm could be as that didn't even appear in his stat screen. He frowned into his hands as tried to think on if his servant even had a Noble Phantasm before dismissing the thought.

Truly it was a foolish notion for a Heroic Spirit to not have a Noble Phantasm considering they were the crystallization of their lore, right? Right?

It made him question the idea of his servant being a known entity or if the Church truly did mess up and he summoned some other biblical spirit or even some no name thug. Now that would truly be hilarious to him. Though he felt that his servant had to be known in some capacity to make it into the Throne of Heroes, even if he found himself questioning if he summoned the Messiah or not.

It was a strange thing but he felt that his servant didn't react kindly to the idea of Jesus Christ. It was like the servant was angry at something. Or maybe it was him looking too deeply into the actions of someone under the madness enhancement.

He carefully blanked his face out as he felt something trip one of his traps and heard laughter fill the air. It seems that someone has decided to enter his arena, and he knew without a doubt that it was a servant.


	5. Time for War

Rome, once the greatest empire upon the face of this earth, now a popular tourist spot and seat of power for the church not to mention the battlefield for the current holy grail war between seven magi and their seven servants. I rode in on my motorcycle and was taken aback but the beauty within such a historic place it almost seemed a shame for a bloody and unhonorable war to take place within this great city.

"So, master," I heard saber's voice echo in my head, "do you even have a plan on how to in this grail war?" I thought about it for a minute until I arrived at a small Italian bistro.

"Honestly, I don't." I replied as I parked my bike and began to walk inside to order, "However, I know that we can not plan on this war being a fair and simple battle. I'm sure that any strategy that we even attempt to create, will quickly be thrown off the rails. So, unfortunately the best we can do is roll with the punches." I heard an audible sigh rattle around my skull and I swear I felt Saber's eyes roll. I ordered myself an espresso and sat outside under the bright Italian sun, moments like this make me wish I wasn't involved in this God forsaken war. Even worse, I know my brother is some out there searching for me both as an executioner and as a rival master. Despite this fact I hold not resentment to him, in fact I hope and pray that his servant is vanquished and he is unharmed by the end of this war. Until he was chosen by the church to hunt me down, I don't harbor any hatred towards him. In fact as children we were close and nearly inseparable, we were always playing and studying together up to our teen years when our studies branched off from one another but even then we were thick as thieves. One time, I remember getting into trouble with some local thugs in Moscow and ended up in an alley way up against five insufferable idiots. The part I didn't know was that he wasn't far from where I was and ran to my aid, talk about divine intervention.

"However, before we attempt anything we should wait until night fall so we won't have to worry about any civilians witnessing the battle," I explained to Saber, "I trust that the rest of the master will agree with that and none will attack us in broad daylight."

"Understood, however," Saber started, "One thing does trouble me, if you've explained everything in it's entirety and this is the land of the church that your brother works for are you sure that they won't send any other executioners to kill you?"

"Fair point," I honestly hadn't thought about that however, "I doubt they would waste that much man power on one sealing designate. Plus my brother is one of the most successful executioners in their history. I'm the only target that's taken him more than a week to finish off, and that is only because I understand how is mind work." Dmitri is an intelligent, and ruthless man however he's predictable. His hunts usually revolve around a quick surprise attack one the target is most comfortable and unaware. In fact I don't think a single one of his targets knew he was there before they were executed, and that's how I've stayed alive. I never get comfortable any where, I make it a point to not settle down any where that's when he'd find me and finish the job he was meant to do. I got up and began to explore the city looking for vantage points to use at night so I can keep an eye on the city in it's entirety. Every so often I would hear Saber scoff in my head as if he disapproved of our surroundings, like some pompous interior decorator. Eventually I was fed up with it, "Do you have something you'd like to say Saber?"

"The people who lived here ages ago, The Romans, they had no sense of originality," Yup I was right, like an arrogant interior decorator, "They merely copied the Greek empire in their architecture and with much of their culture from what I can tell. In fact it appears as though they didn't even try to hide the fact that half their culture was ripped from the histories of Greece."

"Well," I sighed, "That's how civilizations throughout history have operated, you should know that. Just look at America, they've incorporated fragments from many cultures from around the world. Are you surprised that the greatest empire to ever exist did the same?" I bought a cannoli from a small stand on the road as I made my way towards some of the ancient ruins further within the city as the sun went down. I started to dread how large the city was, in fact I cursed under my breath that this was the battleground. "Damn, this is not good. There are too many spaces to be ambushed, to many corners for enemies to hide behind, plus I don't believe that many of the mages possessed great patience to find an opponent, and might just start leveling buildings."

"Master," Saber sounded almost alarmed at something, "I sense a powerful magic presence. Most likely a servant." I stopped in my tracks and began looking around. Shit. That was faster then I thought it would be, good news is it most likely isn't assassin he's sensing.

"Can you tell which one it is?" I asked as I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows.

"No, but I can tell about whe— hold on," He stopped mid sentence abruptly. "There are two now, they're in the direction of the colosseum."

"Stay hidden until I say so but be prepared." I ordered Saber and began making my way to the coliseum, suddenly the ground began to shake as though an earthquake had just hit. "No doubt about it, that's definitely a servant." I ran to the colosseum so I could at least figure out who two of the other servants are and figure out a way to beat them if I have to fight them. I reached the outer wall and immediately hid in the shadows cast by the sunset and quickly but quietly made my way inside. I heard clashing that was getting more and more intense the longer it went on for. Once I got into the center of the colosseum I gazed into the arena, I could make out two figures fighting as soon as I looked. One of which was a large man with brown hair, a beard and dressed in Middle Eastern garb, however the other was moving too fast to fully make out what they looked like but I could clearly see a polearm like weapon flashing about.

"Looks like we've found Berserker and Lancer master." Saber commented in my head.

"Yeah, the two I was afra—" This was my turn to stop mid sentence as I saw a familiar person in the stands. His glasses and posture were a dead give away, as well as him yelling orders at Berserker.

"Master? What is it?"

"Saber, assist Berserker. Now." I commanded as my eyes narrowed and my voice became sharp.

"On it." He rushed in as he materialized, his movement was fast and fluid almost as if he was flying. Of course, the Sandals of Hermes that he wears. I almost forgot that not only was Perseus renowned for his skills but also the gifts he received from the gods to defeat the gorgon Medusa. He intercepted Lancer deflecting his blow and counterattacking in true Greek warrior fashion using his shield as a weapon in and of itself. The moment he arrived on the battle field and stopped the fight Lancer fled, most likely an order from his master knowing he couldn't take on two powerful servants at once.

"So," I shouted across the arena, "It's been awhile hasn't it, Dmitri?"


End file.
